Mahmut Sadi Irmak (May 15, 1904 – November 11, 1990) was a Turkish academic in

physiology Physiology (; ) is the science, scientific study of function (biology), functions and mechanism (biology), mechanisms in a life, living system. As a branches of science, subdiscipline of biology, physiology focuses on how organisms, organ syst ...

, politician and former

Prime Minister of Turkey The prime minister of Turkey, officially the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (), was the head of government of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Tu ...

Biography

He was born in the town

Seydişehir Seydişehir is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Konya Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,458 km2, and its population is 65,465 (2022). History Seydişehir has an extensive historical record extending back many centuries. In 5 ...

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

in 1904. He became teacher for

biology Biology is the scientific study of life and living organisms. It is a broad natural science that encompasses a wide range of fields and unifying principles that explain the structure, function, growth, History of life, origin, evolution, and ...

after finishing the college in Konya. However, he quit his job the same year and attended the Law School at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

wanted to send 50 of his students abroad for a good education in 1925. A test was held for this throughout Turkey. Sadi was among those who took the exam and was chosen. When Sadi got on the train, he refused to go. Just then, a telegram arrived. Sadi read Atatürk's words: I send you as a spark, you should return as a flame. That words affected Sadi. And he decided to go again. He went to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

on a state granted scholarship to study biology and

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. He graduated from the

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

in 1929 with a degree in medicine. After completing his study, Sadi Irmak worked as an assistant physician in hospitals in

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, Germany. Irmak was fascinated by the

Nazis Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

and was a prominent proponent of

eugenics Eugenics is a set of largely discredited beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter the frequency of various human phenotypes by inhibiting the fer ...

. Returned to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, he worked as a government physician and teacher for biology. In 1932, he became a lecturer at the School of Medicine of Istanbul University, and in 1939, he was promoted to full professor for physiology.

Political career

Sadi Irmak entered politics in 1943 as deputy of Konya. Between June 7, 1945, and August 5, 1946, he served as minister of labor in the cabinet of

Şükrü Saracoğlu Mehmet Şükrü Saracoğlu (; 17 June 1887 – 27 December 1953) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, the fifth prime minister of Turkey and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs during the early stag ...

, becoming the first Turkish politician to assume the post. He returned to the faculty, however, in 1950, to lecture first in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Germany and then in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

again. In 1974, he was admitted to the Senate. The same year, Sadi Irmak was commissioned by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (15 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish people, Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the sixth president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the List of commanders of the ...

to form the 38th government of Turkey on November 17, 1974. The caretaker government under his prime ministry lasted for 124 days until his resignation on March 31, 1975, when he lost a

vote of no confidence A motion or vote of no confidence (or the inverse, a motion or vote of confidence) is a motion and corresponding vote thereon in a deliberative assembly (usually a legislative body) as to whether an officer (typically an executive) is deemed fi ...

in the parliament. After the military coup on September 12, 1980, he was elected to the Consultative Assembly. He acted as its speaker from October 27, 1981, until December 4, 1983. Sadi Irmak died on November 11, 1990, in Istanbul, and was buried at the Aşiyan Asri Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and two children. His daughter, Prof. Yakut Irmak Özden, is director of the Institute for Atatürk's Ideology and History of His Reforms at Istanbul University.School of Communications at Istanbul University

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External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irmak, Sadi 1904 births 1990 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Turkey People from Seydişehir Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Darülfünun alumni Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Academic staff of Gazi Eğitim Enstitüsü Academic staff of Istanbul University Ministers of labour and social security of Turkey Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey Turkish physiologists Burials at Aşiyan Asri Cemetery Members of the 38th government of Turkey Members of the 14th government of Turkey Members of the 15th government of Turkey